Almost two decades ago, Facebook opened up page membership to everyone and soon accounts from well-known companies and government bodies began to appear to facilitate the dissemination of information. But now some users have started receiving notifications that the number of links that can be uploaded on Facebook is limited to only 2 per month unless they subscribe to Meta Verified.
Notifications are only received by customers using professional mode and Facebook Pages. In a statement given to Techcrunch, Meta said that this feature is still just a test to gather user feedback on paying to upload links.
Among those who will be affected if this feature is made mandatory are celebrities, influencers, brand accounts, websites and even media companies. Meta previously said that a Meta Verified subscription will provide higher reach on Facebook and Instagram compared to regular accounts.
In Malaysia, the price of a Meta Verified subscription starts from RM36.99 per month and this will be another cost that companies will have to bear if they want to continue uploading links on Facebook. On the positive side, it will allow verification that accounts truly belong to celebrities, influencers and companies to avoid the problem of widespread fraud on the platform through identity theft.